It has been just about five days since I got back on the grid. I've returned to the barrage of emails, breaking news alerts and information overload. But for about 70 hours this week, I was without any digital device along with more than 300 others, in the middle of the redwood forests of Northern California -- and it was awesome.
At The Digital Detox's no-technology summer camp for adults, "Camp Grounded" -- which ran June 14 to 17 -- I was greeted with great big hugs from "Honey Bear" and the camp's other counselors. After the warm California welcome, I placed my iPhone and Garmin GPS carefully into the provided paper bag to quarantine my digital devices. That was it. The bag was sealed and locked away in a storage room. It was just me, my clothes, a couple paper notebooks and some disposable film cameras.
After being nicknamed "Pathway" by a guy named "Beef" (no real names allowed), I explored the campgrounds and set up my sleeping bag in my assigned camping area, the Frog Village. We all started to meet each other, and thus began our weekend adventure of being a kid again with no technology or time.
Camp Activities
Just like camp for children, there were activities that didn't involve one of those shiny screens you're staring at right now. As a newbie camper, I learned how to make a campfire from scratch, as well as how to carve wood art just with a magnifying glass and the power of the sun. On Friday evening, I went with some fellow campers to see the starlit sky in a quiet clearing of the woods, unobstructed by any urban light pollution. Later, I went to a place at camp they called Hollow Grove, with an old school bus featuring live music and dancing on board.
On Saturday evening, we had a silent dinner -- literally: no talking, just eating. In my day-to-day life, I'm completely guilty of either eating in front of my computer or the TV screen. This dinner was meant for us to realize the beauty of just focusing on the food -- a vegan selection that everyone politely ate. Later that night, we had the requisite camp talent show, with singing, dancing and storytelling. I also spent some time in the camp's tea yurt, complete with fresh tea, live music and good company. Without the distractions of vibrating phones or the blue glow of TV screens you'd see in a bar, we danced the night away.
By Sunday evening, the community that had been forming within camp was even stronger. That night we danced again at a 1980s-themed prom dance. Without fear of immediate Instagrams of our ridiculously mismatched costumes, we let loose and enjoyed the moment.
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On the last day of camp, I woke up far before the first morning gong and began wandering the wooded property. I stumbled upon a place called the "typewriter range," which was a former gun range transformed into a typewriter paradise -- complete with classic machines, clean white paper and a killer view. There, I noted some things I learned from the unplugged weekend:
1. Tech is wonderful, but don't forget about IRL (in real life) interactions.
The experience reminded me that we're defined by so much more than our LinkedIn profiles and Klout scores. Skyping is just not the same as sharing a meal with someone face to face.
2. Stare at people, not just screens.
Yes, you can learn so much about people via Google, Facebook and the world of information available at our fingertips these days. But by putting the devices aside and just stopping to talk with someone, you can actually gain so much beyond two-dimensional picture that data provides.
3. Don't worry about FOMO (fear of missing out).
Technology enables us to keep up with every single thing going on. But when our attention is dispersed between a million things, we can end up with half-baked experiences. Sometimes we worry so much about capturing a moment through an Instagram or tweet that we forget to fully experience that moment ourselves. Like a wise camp sign read: "Yield to the present."
It's amazing how a weekend together with strangers has already blossomed into an active Facebook camper group, Bay Area reunions and a seemingly lasting bond from an experience that we'll never forget. The Digital Detox is holding another retreat in July, in Ukiah, Calif.
As I talked with fellow campers about their experiences this past week and reflected on my own, I wondered if this newfound awareness would fizzle out and we'd all eventually go back to old habits. But working to balance the amount of technology in our lives is certainly something we consciously need to figure out each day. So for now, I'll close my laptop and do some planning to hang out with friends and family. And I don't mean on Google+.
Would you or have you done a digital detox? Share your experiences in the comments.
For more about the people I met and their thoughts about the digital detox experience, stay tuned to Mashable for part two of this story.